CareerBuilder’s Annual Study Reveals This Year’s Most Absurd Excuses for Calling in Sick

38 percent of employees have called in to work sick when feeling well in the past year, up from 28 percent in 2014

One third of employers have caught an employee lying about being sick by checking social media

CHICAGO – October 15, 2015 – Whether it’s to finish binge-watching their latest Netflix obsession, take care of personal errands or simply needing a day off, many workers aren’t above taking a sick day despite having a clean bill of health. According to a new CareerBuilder survey, 38 percent of employees have called in to work sick when they’re feeling well in the past year, up from 28 percent last year. But some employees take their excuses to the next level: From claiming their grandmother poisoned them, to saying they have to spend the day dumpster diving, employers named the most absurd excuses employees have given for calling in sick.

Of the employees who have called in sick when feeling well in the past year, 27 percent said they had a doctor’s appointment, the same proportion said they just didn’t feel like going, 26 percent said they needed to relax, 21 percent said they needed to catch up on sleep and 12 percent blamed bad weather.

The national survey was conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder from August 12 to September 2, 2015, and included a representative sample of 3,321 full-time workers and 2,326 hiring managers and human resource professionals across industries and company sizes.

The Cost of a Sick Day

Of the 52 percent of employees who have a Paid Time Off (PTO) program that allows them to use their time off however they choose, 27 percent say they still feel obligated to make up an excuse for taking a day off (compared to 23 percent last year), and many of them are relatively new to the workforce. Of these employees who have a PTO program, 32 percent of those ages18-34 say they still feel obligated to make up an excuse, compared to 20 percent of those 55 and older.

On the other hand, some feel they can’t afford to use a sick day, even when they’re ill. More than half of employees (54 percent) say they have gone into work when sick because they felt the work wouldn’t get done otherwise. Further, nearly half (48 percent) say they can’t afford to miss a day of pay, up from 38 percent last year, and this varies greatly by age:

Age 18-24: 71 percent

Age 25-34: 63 percent

Age 35-44: 44 percent

Age 45-54: 40 percent

Age 55+: 32 percent

Sorry, I Can’t Make it in…

When asked to share the most memorable excuses for workplace absences they’ve heard, employers reported the following real-life examples:

Employee claimed his grandmother poisoned him with ham.

Employee was stuck under the bed.

Employee broke his arm reaching to grab a falling sandwich.

Employee said the universe was telling him to take a day off.

Employee’s wife found out he was cheating. He had to spend the day retrieving his belongings from the dumpster.

Employee poked herself in the eye while combing her hair.

Employee said his wife put all his underwear in the washer.

Employee said the meal he cooked for a department potluck didn’t turn out well.

Employee was going to the beach because the doctor said she needed more vitamin D.

Employee said her cat was stuck inside the dashboard of her car.

Bluffing To Fight the Winter Blues

The most popular months for employees to call in sick continue to be December (20 percent), January (15 percent) and February (14 percent), on par with last year’s survey results. And while less than 1 in 10 employees (9 percent) say they have ever faked being sick during the holidays, those that do most often say it’s to spend time with family and friends (68 percent), while others wanted to holiday shop (21 percent) or decorate for the season (9 percent).

Faking? Busted

While most employers claim to trust their employees, one in three employers (33 percent) have checked to see if an employee was telling the truth after calling in sick this year, compared to 31 percent last year. Of these employers, asking to see a doctor’s note was the most popular way to find out of the absence was based in truth (67 percent), followed by calling the employee (49 percent) and checking the employee’s social media posts (32 percent).

More than 1 in 5 employers (22 percent) has fired an employee for calling in sick with a fake excuse, an increase from last year (18 percent).

To keep an eye on questionable behavior, employers are going online. Thirty-three percent of all employers have caught an employee lying about being sick by checking their social media accounts, and of those, 26 percent have fired the employee.

Survey Methodology

These surveys were conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder among 2,326 hiring and human resource managers ages 18 and over and 3,321 employees ages 18 and over (employed full-time, not self-employed, non-government) between August 12 and September 2, 2015. Percentages for some questions are based on a subset, based on their responses to certain questions. With pure probability samples of 2,326 and 3,321, one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have sampling errors of +/- 1.95 and +/- 1.70 percentage points, respectively. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies.

About CareerBuilder®

As the global leader in human capital solutions, CareerBuilder specializes in cutting-edge HR software as a service to help companies with every step of the recruitment process from acquire to hire. CareerBuilder works with top employers across industries, providing job distribution, sourcing, workflow, CRM, data and analytics in one pre-hire platform. It also operates leading job sites around the world. Owned by TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA), Tribune Media (NYSE:TRCO) and The McClatchy Company (NYSE:MNI), CareerBuilder and its subsidiaries operate in the United States, Europe, South America, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit www.careerbuilder.com.